3 Essential Knives for the Home Cook

A chef’s knife can be used for all sorts of chopping, slicing, dicing, and mincing.

This knife is really the workhorse of the kitchen, so investing in a quality chef’s knife always pays off.

A 10-inch chef’s knife is the best choice for a home cook. It should feel comfortable in your hand and be balanced, which means the handle should not be significantly heavier than the blade, or vice versa. You’ll know a suitable one when you hold it.

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A serrated knife generally has an 8- to 10-inch blade, and you want to find one that has wide teeth (meaning the pointy edges along the blade aren’t too close together).

Have you ever tried to slice a baguette with a regular knife? It’s not only frustrating but also dangerous. For this reason (and many others), a serrated knife should be on your list of essentials.

This type of knife is essential for cutting bread; a chef’s knife can do the job if you’re in a pinch, but a hard-crusted bread dulls a chef’s knife quickly. A serrated knife is also handy when slicing tomatoes and other foods that have thin but resistant skins.

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A paring knife has a blade from 2 to 4 inches long.

You use it for delicate jobs like peeling apples and other fruits, trimming shallots and garlic, removing stems from strawberries, coring tomatoes, and making vegetable or fruit decorations.